HF APRS iGates for VK

 just throwing a list together here for the 30m/40m iGates operating  300bps APRS  here in VK.

If you seriously going to be travelling the outback, or maritime mobile around VK, then HF APRS is good for your safety,  it is 300bps APRS,  10.147600 MHz USB, 7.036 MHz LSB 

VK1IAN-1 30m ACT

VK2NA-11 30m Newcastle

VK2OL-10 30m Sydney

VK4AB-4 30m  Brisbane

VK4MQ-4 30m Toowoomba  (Direwolf)

VK4MQ-5  30m Toowoomba  (UIview-32)

VK5ARG-3  30m & 40m  Balaklava

VK5DW-5  30m  Berri

VK5RM-4  30m  Adelaide

VK5THB-4 30m Waikerie

VK6LD-4 30m  Perth

VK7KPC-4 30m Launceston

VK7ZRO-4 30m & 40m Hobart

VK8KMD-10  30m Alice Springs

VK8JG-5  30m & 40m  Darwin

Surprisingly, the ZL's don't appear to have any HF APRS iGates, with all that mountainous country, I thought their VHF APRS would have a lot of coverage holes.

And places like New Caledonia, Vanuatu, Fiji and Tonga  don't have any HF iGates, considering the maritime mobile traffic from visiting hams in that region.

postmortem of WIA VHF/UHF/SHF contest - 21st November 2020

 We went to Mt. Allyn  QF57rv,  a group of us from MWRS Club operating as VK2MB,   for the 8 hour stint,  I also  operated as myself to give out some numbers on 146.500 FM simplex to people. Nothing heard or worked on 439.000 FM or 52.525 FM

Nothing on 23cm or 9cm,   just too many damned trees sticking up. on the south-west side of the carpark, which is what we needed to get back to Sydney and beyond,  it is clear  view from north round to east,  (90 Degrees) , but south through west to north (180 deg) is buggered by big trees.

We worked ZL stations on 2m SSB.  that was the excitement, considering it was 37deg C when we got there. The dirt road to the top is thin, windy and rough, although there were cars coming up.

Overall, pretty dismal operating from this site, Telstra and Optus mobile  coverage was piss weak, considering we sitting on top of a mountain,  4G signal kept coming and going, not reliable for doing liason on vkspotter  etc.   We noted that Gerard VK2IO  did a whole lot better  operating portable from Mt. Banks QF56ej.  Need to re-evaluate where we going next time.

VKS-737 Radio Network

 I just giving a plug here to the VKS-737 organisation, 

this is not amateur radio, but I was at my car service place yesterday and got talking with a mechanic about his 4WD who is planning to  travel around Australia, hence I mentioned to him about the VKS-737 radio network to him, because you don't want to be travelling and get stuck in middle of nowhere without communications ability.

VKS-737 Radio Network - it is a HF network, run by volunteers, to help outback travellers, typically 4WD'ers  and caravaners, if needed,  or just to keep tabs on them (check-in) when travelling around the outback, makes it easy for authorities to find you, if you don't arrive at a destination at the prescribed time.

https://vks737.radio/

WIA Spring VHF UHF SHF Contest 2020

 We planning to go portable to operate in the  WIA Spring VHF UHF SHF Contest weekend,  starting 0100z  Saturday 28th November 2020, concluding  0100z Sunday 29th November 2020.

Our planned destination is Mt. Allyn up in the Barrington Tops Area,   Grid Square QF57RV  at height of 1135m ASL, it is supposed to have good takeoff back towards Newcastle, Central Coast,  Sydney and Wollongong.

We planning to run 6m, 2m, 70cm, 23cm, 9cm and 3cm  SSB,  possibly 6m, 2m, 70cm, 23cm  FM simplex

Basically 50.150, 144.150, 432.150, 1296.150, 3398.100, 10368.100  SSB and

52.525, 146.500, 439.000 1294.000 FM simplex

WIA VHF UHF SHF Contest Rules found here :

https://www.wia.org.au/members/contests/vhfuhf/

VK2MB - MWRS John Moyle Field Day Contest March 2020

Here are photos from the Manly Warringah Radio Society blog for when they operated portable for the  John Moyle Field Day Contest  on 21st & 22nd March 2020, just as the Covid lockdown began.

They still had good fun and did some radio contesting.

They operated from the Polblue Campground, Barrington Tops, NSW,  QF58RB  since they working HF,

however there are some nearby high spots, clear and worthy of  VHF, UHF and SHF activity.

see the photos here :

 https://www.mwrs.org.au/2020/03/22/john-moyle-field-day-2020/